This invention relates to a novel silicon-containing derivative of butadiene polymers and a method for the preparation of same.
The conventional liquid polymers of butadiene or liquid copolymers of butadiene with a comonomer, such as styrene or acrylonitrile, are unsatisfactory in their inferior thermal stability and anti-oxidation resistance, because they have unsaturated double bonds in the molecular structure which are susceptible to oxidation. It is known that improvements in the thermal stability and anti-oxidation resistance of butadiene polymers can be achieved to some extent by the hydrogenation of the double bonds, along with the improvement in the flexibility of cured and crosslinked forms of the polymers.
The hydrogenation of liquid butadiene polymers, however, brings about a considerable increase in their viscosity and in the temperature dependency of the viscosity to an extent such that practical applications of the hydrogenated polymers are unavoidably disadvantaged.
In addition, the incorporation of an inorganic filler, such as finely divided silica fillers, into the hydrogenated liquid butadiene polymers leads to a very much increased viscosity or consistency of the composition with eventual complete loss of the fluidity of the composition. Therefore, such a filler-impregnated hydrogenated butadiene polymer exhibits a very poor workability when it is employed in various applications, for example, molding, potting, encapsulation and coating of electric or electronic parts and devices and other applications where the polymer is to be cured by crosslinking and the composition should have a sufficient fluidity before the curing.